World History Timeline

Timeline

60 events

20th century

  1. July 23, 1983 – May 18, 2009★★★★★

    Sri Lankan Civil War

    A 26-year armed conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ends in the LTTE's defeat.

    War· Sri Lanka
  2. 1991 – 2001★★★★★

    Yugoslav Wars

    A series of ethnic conflicts and wars of independence accompany the break-up of Yugoslavia, killing an estimated 130,000–140,000 people and involving numerous war crimes.

    War· Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro
  3. August 2, 1998 – July 18, 2003★★★★★

    Second Congo War

    War in the Democratic Republic of the Congo drew in the armies of numerous African states; the fighting and associated famine and disease caused millions of deaths.

    War· DR Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia

21st century

  1. January 15, 2001★★★★★

    Wikipedia is launched

    Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger launch Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia written collaboratively by volunteers.

    TechnologyCulture· United States
  2. June 1, 2001★★★★★

    Nepalese royal massacre

    Crown Prince Dipendra shoots King Birendra and several other members of the royal family at Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu.

    DeathPolitics· Nepal
  3. September 11, 2001★★★★★

    September 11 attacks

    Al-Qaeda hijackers attack New York and Washington with four airliners, killing nearly 3,000 people.

    DisasterPolitics· United States
  4. January 1, 2002★★★★★

    Euro banknotes and coins enter circulation

    Euro cash enters circulation in twelve European Union countries, replacing national currencies such as the franc, the Deutsche Mark and the lira.

    Economy· Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain
  5. May 20, 2002★★★★★

    Independence of Timor-Leste

    Following the 1999 referendum and a period of UN administration, East Timor becomes an independent state.

    Politics· Timor-Leste, Indonesia
  6. July 9, 2002★★★★★

    African Union launched

    The African Union was formally launched in Durban, replacing the Organisation of African Unity.

    Politics· South Africa
  7. March 20, 2003 – December 2011★★★★★

    Iraq War

    A US-led coalition invades Iraq and topples Saddam Hussein, beginning a long period of occupation and conflict.

    War· Iraq, United States, United Kingdom
  8. April 14, 2003★★★★★

    Human Genome Project completed

    The Human Genome Project announces it has sequenced the vast majority of the human genome.

    Science· United States, United Kingdom
  9. February 4, 2004★★★★★

    Facebook is launched

    Mark Zuckerberg and fellow students launch the social network Facebook at Harvard; it later reaches billions of users.

    TechnologyCulture· United States
  10. May 1, 2004★★★★★

    European Union admits ten new members

    In its largest enlargement, the EU admits ten countries, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltic states.

    Politics· Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia
  11. December 26, 2004★★★★★

    Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami

    A magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra triggers tsunamis that kill around 230,000 people across many countries.

    Disaster· Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand
  12. August 29, 2005★★★★★

    Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans

    Hurricane Katrina strikes the US Gulf Coast, breaching New Orleans' levees and killing more than 1,300 people.

    Disaster· United States
  13. October 9, 2006★★★★★

    North Korea's first nuclear test

    North Korea conducts its first underground nuclear test, drawing UN Security Council condemnation and sanctions.

    TechnologyWar· North Korea
  14. January 9, 2007★★★★★

    Apple unveils the iPhone

    Steve Jobs unveils the first iPhone, accelerating the era of touchscreen smartphones.

    Technology· United States
  16. December 27, 2007★★★★★

    Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

    Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to lead a Muslim-majority country, is killed in an attack in Rawalpindi.

    DeathPolitics· Pakistan
  17. April 2008★★★★★

    Launch of VINASAT-1

    Vietnam's first communications satellite is launched into orbit.

    Technology· Vietnam
  18. May 28, 2008★★★★★

    Nepal abolishes the monarchy

    Nepal's Constituent Assembly votes to abolish the Shah monarchy and declares a federal democratic republic.

    Politics· Nepal
  19. August 2008★★★★★

    Expansion of Hanoi

    Hà Tây province and several neighbouring districts are merged into Hanoi, roughly tripling the capital's area.

    Politics· Vietnam
  20. August 2008★★★★★

    Russo-Georgian War

    A brief war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia; Russia afterwards recognises both regions as independent states.

    War· Georgia, Russia
  21. August 8, 2008 – August 24, 2008★★★★★

    2008 Beijing Olympics

    Beijing hosts the Summer Olympic Games for the first time, opening on 8 August 2008.

    Culture· China
  22. October 31, 2008★★★★★

    Bitcoin white paper published

    A person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto publishes the white paper describing Bitcoin, the first decentralised cryptocurrency.

    TechnologyEconomy
  23. November 4, 2008★★★★★

    Barack Obama elected US President

    Barack Obama wins the presidential election, becoming the first African American elected to the office.

    Politics· United States
  24. January 12, 2010★★★★★

    2010 Haiti earthquake

    A magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastates Port-au-Prince and the surrounding region, killing hundreds of thousands of people.

    Disaster· Haiti
  25. December 17, 2010 – January 14, 2011★★★★★

    Tunisian Revolution begins the Arab Spring

    The self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi sparks protests that force President Ben Ali to flee, spreading into the Arab Spring.

    Revolution· Tunisia
  26. January 25, 2011 – February 11, 2011★★★★★

    Egyptian Revolution of 2011

    Mass protests centred on Tahrir Square force President Hosni Mubarak to resign after nearly 30 years in power.

    Revolution· Egypt
  27. February 2011 – October 2011★★★★★

    Libyan Civil War (2011)

    An uprising, backed by NATO military intervention, overthrows Muammar Gaddafi, who is killed in October 2011.

    WarRevolution· Libya
  28. March 11, 2011★★★★★

    Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

    A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan kill nearly 20,000 people and trigger the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

    Disaster· Japan
  29. March 15, 2011★★★★★

    Syrian civil war

    Protests against Bashar al-Assad's government are suppressed and escalate into a multi-sided civil war, causing a major refugee crisis.

    War· Syria
  30. July 9, 2011★★★★★

    South Sudan becomes independent

    Following a 2011 referendum, South Sudan seceded from Sudan and became the newest UN-recognised country.

    Politics· South Sudan, Sudan
  31. 2012★★★★★

    CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing described

    Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier show how CRISPR-Cas9 can cut DNA at chosen sites, launching a revolution in gene editing.

    Science· United States
  32. July 4, 2012★★★★★

    Discovery of the Higgs boson announced

    CERN announces that the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider have observed a particle consistent with the Higgs boson.

    Science· Switzerland, France
  33. 2013 – 2016★★★★★

    West African Ebola epidemic

    The largest Ebola outbreak in history, centred on Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, killed more than 11,000 people.

    Disease· Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone
  34. October 4, 2013★★★★★

    Death of Võ Nguyên Giáp

    General Võ Nguyên Giáp, commander at Điện Biên Phủ, dies in Hanoi aged 102.

    Death· Vietnam
  35. December 5, 2013★★★★★

    Death of Nelson Mandela

    Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first Black president and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died in Johannesburg at the age of 95.

    Death· South Africa
  36. March 18, 2014★★★★★

    Russia annexes Crimea

    After seizing the peninsula and holding an internationally unrecognised referendum, Russia annexes Ukraine's Crimea.

    PoliticsWar· Ukraine, Russia
  37. June 29, 2014★★★★★

    ISIS proclaims a caliphate

    The Islamic State group proclaims a 'caliphate' over territory seized in Iraq and Syria; it loses nearly all of it by 2017–2019.

    WarPolitics· Iraq, Syria
  38. April 25, 2015★★★★★

    2015 Nepal earthquake

    A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes central Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and destroying heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley.

    Disaster· Nepal, India, China
  39. September 14, 2015★★★★★

    First detection of gravitational waves

    The LIGO detectors record gravitational waves from two merging black holes, confirming a prediction of general relativity; the result is announced in February 2016.

    Science· United States
  40. June 23, 2016★★★★★

    Brexit referendum

    Voters in the United Kingdom choose, by about 52 per cent, to leave the European Union.

    Politics· United Kingdom
  41. November 25, 2016★★★★★

    Death of Fidel Castro

    Fidel Castro, leader of the Cuban Revolution who ruled Cuba for nearly half a century, dies in Havana.

    Death· Cuba
  42. April 10, 2019★★★★★

    First image of a black hole released

    The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration releases the first direct image of a black hole, at the centre of the galaxy M87.

    Science
  45. September 15, 2020★★★★★

    Abraham Accords

    Israel signs US-brokered agreements normalising relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

    Treaty· Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, United States
  46. December 8, 2020★★★★★

    First approved COVID-19 vaccination

    The United Kingdom gives the first doses of the fully authorised Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, beginning a global vaccination campaign.

    ScienceDisease· United Kingdom
  47. February 1, 2021★★★★★

    2021 Myanmar coup d'état

    Myanmar's military overthrows the civilian government and detains Aung San Suu Kyi, leading to mass protests and civil war.

    Politics· Myanmar
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